Marinduque Vacation-An Alternative to Boracay, if Night Life is not required!

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Please do not forget to read the latest national and international news in the right side bar of this blog. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer-Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Friday, September 30, 2011

Chinese-American Violinist Plays Philippine Kundiman

Stephen Shey-Chinese-American Violinist

This world renowned ambassador of Philippine Kundiman music is NOT Filipino.... violinist virtuoso Stephen Shey is Chinese-American yet he plays a suite of classical Filipino music in his concerts around the world.

At 18, Stephen Y.S. Shey, Chinese American violinist, made his international debut in Manila, Philippines at the James B. Reuter Theater, St. Paul University. He has just returned from a 3-week, 8-city concert tour in China with Maestro Cheung Chau's Orchestra. At the invitation of the Philippine Ambassador of the Nordic States in 2005, he performed at The Music Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Shey’s signature repertoire of Philippine Kundimans has made him the only concert artist who has recognized the passionate and lyrical romanticism conveyed by Philippine classical composers and pays tribute to them in full length kundiman concerts. In 2007, he and pianist Kanako Nishikawa performed at the Zipper Concert Hall in Los Angeles in a concert entitled "Passion. Confession. Kundiman". In 2004, at the invitation of the Philippine Ambassador Albert del Rosario, he serenaded the Filipino veterans at the World War II Memorial dedication ceremony in Washington, D.C. At 15, he gave a concert at the Library of Congress that featured classical arrangements of folk music from various Asian countries. In the past 3 years, Shey has attended workshops and music festivals in Poznan, Poland, Stamford, England, Cummington, Mass., Fryeberg, Maine, Stevens Point, Wis., and Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Shey is studying under Prof. Mark Lakirovich. His primary teachers include Eric Rosenblith, Dana Mazurkevich, Aideen Zeitlin, and Blanka Bednarz.

Top Comments1.You are Stephen Shey. Of all the people you have found a way of expressing the unspoken passion in the heart of every Filipino worthy of being called﻿ as a Filipino. Kundiman is the music of a generation who are now in the twilight of their lives. But hearing the interpretation of Stephen, something stokes the fire in my belly. I am a Filipino and his music reminds me that I have a rich culture and I will have to nurture and cherish it. Bravo Stephen Shey, your music is food to my soul.

2. He plays Kundiman and wears﻿ Barong...whoever you are, I am proud of you, young man.

Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center

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ABOUT ME

I am a retired Filipino-American who loves writing, gardening and photography. My wife ( of 58 years) and I enjoy our snowbird lifestyle between US and the Philippines.

We have a small but very private beach resort (above video) in the beautiful island of Marinduque, Philippines. I have several blog sites (ten), a personal blog, blogs about retiring or visiting the Philippines and about our beach resort-CHATEAU DU MER.

Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes
My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation.
Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming.
The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.
The Rambutan Tree and Fruits
The Lanzone Tree and Fruits
The Jack Fruit Tree
The Durian Fruit Tree

Disclaimer: Most of the photos and videos included in this blog are not owned by me unless stated. If you are the owner of the photo/video and you would like to be credited, please let me know and I will pay proper attribution after careful verification of your identity and of your 'claimed' image/s. The photos/videos used in this blog are results of myGoogle and other Internet searches. Thank you and if you enjoy this blog, help support it by clicking on the ads.

Marinduque Mainland from Tres Reyes Island

View of Mainland Marinduque from Tres Reyes Island-Click photo to link to Marinduque Awaits You